Auxillary electric fan

[7M-GTEric]

I've been considering installing one of these fans and wiring it up to either a thermostat or just a switch, to help out my already seemingly hot-natured Supe on those slow moving, extra-hot days

My question goes out to anyone who actually has this fan on their car stock; in your opinion, does it push enough air to really be worth the trouble? I just know I can get one for cheaper than other electric fans, plus it would bolt up, so it was a thought...

 

[Nick M]

Of course it helps. Or Toyota would not have put it on the car. I just unplugged the high pressure A/C switch, built a simple plug, and ran the wire to the inside of my car. I put a black toggle switch where the TEMS would go. This car didn't have TEMS.

 

[7M-GTEric]

Of course it helps. Or Toyota would not have put it on the car.

Well Toyota didn't equip. my car with one; apparently they only came on A/T and E/G models (E/G?...). Instead, it appears that they upped the output of the other 2 electric fans (as per TSRM).

Regardless, thanks for the input. I'm still considering it. Do you notice a temp. drop when it's on?

I should probably focus my funds more on a replacement fan shroud, since mine's a little banged up...

 

[CRE]

Whether or not you see any benefit from the aux fans running is going to also depends on when the thermostat is opening. If you're running warm due to the thermostat not opening readily enough the fans won't do much, if anything.

 

[Blade2001]

I only have one electric fan in my 87T 5spd. And I havent seen coming ON either. My car do not overheat with A/C. I am in houston. May be you have to look into why the car is overheating if it is..

 

[cuel]

How's your radiator, water pump, t.stat? Coolant nice and green, or brown and nasty? I'd advise checking your cooling system first, could be your radiator is partially plugged, causing you to run hotter than normal.

Although I'm not turbo, my fans really only come on at prolonged stops, or after long, hard runs. I only have electric fans, no clutch fan.

 

[supraman7mgte]

yeah,i'd check into the cooling system first.
make sure all of your systems are working properly,if you have not,flush your entire system,pull the radiator out,if bad,replace it.
check the t-stat,looks bad? replace it!
water pump,belt,hoses,dive into that thing and fix it.

 

[Orion ZyGarian]

I have one because my car was originally auto. Its loud and doesnt seem to move much air in comparison to the efans I have

 

[7M-GTEric]

I'm not having overheating issues; I'd just like it to run a little cooler, especially when I'm driving around town in stop n go traffic.

I did a HG job shortly after I bought the car. The PO installed an aftermarket metal radiator and a new water pump (Napa if I recall correctly) in an attempt to remedy what turned out to be a HG issue. Last I checked, the coolant was nice and green. I also recently replaced the 90* hose below the power steering reservoir and installed a Stant 160* thermostat while I was at it. All the plastic underbody panels are on it, but I don't have a good fan shroud to install; I'm thinking I should start there. This fan was just an idea for a little help though.

Honestly, I'm wondering if maybe I'm looking at another HG in the near future, cause I was getting the waterfall effect and having to add coolant probably once a month when I left the country...

 

[jdub]

A 160 deg thermostat is way too low...all your doing is delaying the time it takes the engine to come out of warm-up enrichment. You want the coolant to get above 176 degs as soon as possible...normal operating range is 176-210 degs. This is where you want to be...lower coolant temps are not better. Get that 160 stat off there and install a 190 deg stock temp stat...cut the jiggle valve off before you install it. That will help the system rid itself of air.

Replacing the shroud makes a big difference
Make sure the fan clutch is working properly as well.

 

[7M-GTEric]

Hmm...Yeah, I've tried to burp it a few times but with little success; I think air is getting caught in the heater core or its' lines. I'll be sure and cut the jiggle valve if I replace it.

I've definitely gotta get a good fan shroud-they're hard to come by! I really hate having the mechanical fan, to be quite honest; it's noisy but it sure pushes alot more air than the electric fan I had on it for a while, plus it's much less likely to fail. I've tested my fan clutch and it seems to be in fine working order.

 

[Canyon Racer]

I've been considering installing one of these fans and wiring it up to either a thermostat or just a switch, to help out my already seemingly hot-natured Supe on those slow moving, extra-hot days

My question goes out to anyone who actually has this fan on their car stock; in your opinion, does it push enough air to really be worth the trouble? I just know I can get one for cheaper than other electric fans, plus it would bolt up, so it was a thought...

I have an 86.5 MKIII. It had the engine fan and single a/c fan. I live near Death Valley and wanted superior cooling to avoid head work. I found a donor car and changed out the single a/c fan to the double unit. I still let them run off of the a/c relay. I got a hold of that fan #3 and tried it...didn't notice any additional airflow really. When all 3 fans are drawing air from the backside, pushing air in from the front is redundant. My thinking was that fan #3 was actually intended for tranny cooler airflow on automatics..but I wouldn't know since mines a 5-speed. I don't still have the fan though...sorry.

 

[7M-GTEric]

When all 3 fans are drawing air from the backside, pushing air in from the front is redundant. My thinking was that fan #3 was actually intended for tranny cooler airflow on automatics..but I wouldn't know since mines a 5-speed.

I think that's the bottom line; it does seem redundant. I'm bettin a new fan shroud might bring the temp. down to a level I'm comfortable with. Maybe then my fan wouldn't be going full-blast so much, making my car sound like a pickup truck haha.

 

[jetjock]

Without going into the technical details the pusher fan is there for AC reasons. That's why it's listed as a condenser fan in the AC section of the manual. You clearly have cooling system problems. I'd be fixing them instead of resorting to band aids.

 

[7M-GTEric]

I plan on fixing a few things; this was just an idea for some supplementary cooling.

 

[jdub]

I'm bettin a new fan shroud might bring the temp. down to a level I'm comfortable with.

Coolant temps need to be at where the ECU is "comfortable with"...like I said, that's 176-210 degs. Below that, you are in warm-up enrichment (open loop) that decreases as you approach 176 deg. Above that, the ECU pulls timing. Coolant temps is a major input to the ECU.

 

[7M-GTEric]

Coolant temps need to be at where the ECU is "comfortable with"...like I said, that's 176-210 degs. Below that, you are in warm-up enrichment (open loop) that decreases as you approach 176 deg. Above that, the ECU pulls timing. Coolant temps is a major input to the ECU.

Well regardless, I need a fan shroud. The thermostat will be my next move. Good to know though-thanks man. Sh1t I wish I could just get home and drive it again!